Forward of their debut later this month, boy group Newbeat is previewing their sound with a number of pre-releases. First up was the quirky JeLLo final week. Now, they’re cementing their model with Hiccups. It’s clear Newbeat will likely be aiming for a quasi-retro, considerably gimmicky hip-hop.

There’s no scarcity of boy teams doing this sound, which can make it tough to face out amongst the group. To catch my ear inside this well-trodden sub-genre, a gaggle wants to seek out glorious materials that one way or the other pushes issues ahead relatively than merely regurgitate tropes we’ve heard time and time once more. There are moments in Hiccups that present potential, however they’re couched inside a ton of foolish boy group posturing underlined with hiccupy sound results. Newbeat pull it off in addition to anybody, however I’m simply not the audience for this music.

Grade: C